The German VK3001 Heavy Tank

The German VK3001 Heavy Tank

The German VK3001 Heavy Tank was developed in response to Hitlers 1937 requirement for a heavy tank capable of breaking through enemy lines. This would mean it would require heavy thick steel armour and a powerful main gun capable of defeating enemy armour at range.

Both German firms Porsche and Henschel submitted designs for this new heavy tank, called the VK3001. Porsches VK3001 (P) didn’t make it past the prototype stage, though Herschel’s VK3001 (H) prototypes were trialled from March 1941 onwards, with weights fitted to resemble the turrets weight if it was fitted.

However a few months later it was decided that the development should be swapped to Henschel’s VK4501 (H) which would known as the fearsome Tiger I.

Some of the handful of prototypes built were used for further testing of subsystems, driver training or Tank Destroyers, which are understood to have been used on the Eastern Front with Russia and propaganda media.